Cork Airport Overview

General information about Cork Airport

Cork Airport is one of the most important in Ireland. With nearly 3 million annual passengers, the airport ranks second to Dublin Airport in terms of throughput. If Northern Ireland is taken into account, Cork ranks as the third-busiest airport on the island. For travellers who want to explore the southern region of the Republic of Ireland by hire car, there is no better gateway than Cork.

Cork Airport opened in the 1950s and wasn’t that important at first. In the early days of commercial flights, Ireland was a famous last stop for transatlantic flights to North America. In those days, traffic was routed through Shannon Airport. However, the airport became increasingly important in the last couple of decades, leading to the construction of a brand new terminal building in 2006.

Expansion continues at Cork Airport. Plans are underway to enlarge the airport by a factor of three, extending runways and adding departure gates. Analysts predict that annual throughput will meet or exceed 3 million by 2017, and the airport authority is intent on maintain modern facilities that are more than adequate to accommodate these passengers.

Aer Lingus and Ryanair operate the bulk of the commercial flights that take off from and land at Cork Airport. Aer Lingus flies to several European hubs, including Paris, Rome, Munich, London (Gatwick and Heathrow), Barcelona and Amsterdam. Ryanair offers discount connections to London and several prominent holiday destinations, some of which are offered on a seasonal basis. Dozens of charter routes are also on offer.